WILLIAMSBURG - TribeAthletics.com counts down the top 25 stories of the 2013-14 William and Mary Athletics year. The list is up to No. 6-10 on the coutndown of the top stories of the year. Check back on Monday as TribeAthletics releases stories No. 4 and No. 5.

Men's Swimming Earns Best Finish at Closest CAA Championship Meet in League History

The William and Mary men’s swimming had one of its best years ever in 2013-14, capped off by a historic week at the CAA Championships in late February. The Tribe was 7-2 on the season, a perfect 3-0 at home, and finished second in league by just eight points, the closest finish in conference history.

W&M’s regular season began with a 5-0 mark, the first since 1979, and finished at 7-2 and undefeated at home for the first time since 1998-99. It was just the seventh time since World War II that the Tribe lost just two or fewer dual meets, and the winning included victories over Davidson and Old Dominion that lifted the College to an overall winning-record at home for the first time since 1990. It was also the first win against the Monarchs since 2007, and delivered W&M the win in the Optima Health Challenge for the first time.

Friday was an awe-inspiring night, as W&M swept all six championship events, a feat which is believed to be the first sweep ever in CAA history. Charley Bowles (Yorktown, Va.) won his first gold in the 400 IM, followed by Justin Barden (Gordonsville, Va.) in the 100 fly, Billy Russell (Newport News, Va.) in the 200 free, Strait again in the 100 breast, and Will Manion (Haddonfield, N.J.) in the 100 back. At the end of the night, the Tribe’s 400 medley relay of Manion, Barden, Strait, and Russell broke the school record and won gold for the first time since 1999. Apart from Strait, each of the other four men are all only sophomores.

Strait won gold in six of his seven races during the week, becoming just the ninth man in CAA history to win at least six times in a single championships. He was named the Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet for the second year in a row, and later in the spring became the first W&M man to win CAA Swimmer of the Year. His 10 total championships, six individual titles, and four relay wins, are all school records. Russell and Manion each had five gold medals, ranking second and third, respectively, behind Strait in total points scored at the meet. They both now rank among the 24 men in league history to earn at least five titles in one meet. Director of Swimming Matt Crispino ’02 was named the CAA Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year, the first award of his career and the first Coach of the Year award ever for the Tribe swimming team. Crispino was also the first mentor since 2008 to be named Coach of the Year despite not winning the team title.

#9

Michael Katz Named All-American by Five Organizations, a Semifinalist for the Golden Spikes National Player of the Year Award and Drafted in the Ninth Round of the MLB Draft

Junior Michael Katz enjoyed a breakout campaign on the baseball diamond this spring. He finished the season with a .363 batting average, 87 hits, 24 doubles, a triple, 14 home runs, scored 64 runs, and had a school record 75 RBIs. He posted a .646 slugging percentage, and a .445 on-base percentage. He ranked in the top 10 in the country in doubles, home runs, runs scored, slugging percentage, RBIs, and total bases at year’s end.

For his efforts, Katz garnered five All-America honors, including being named first-team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association, Louisville Slugger, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association. Baseball America tabbed him as a second-team all-American, while Perfect Game placed him on their third team.

Katz finished his career playing 166 games, all starts for the Tribe. He has a .346 career batting average with 230 hits, 57 doubles, two triples, 29 home runs, 180 RBIs. He ranks in the top 10 all-time in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, and total bases.

Stories #11-15 VideoClick the Play Button to the left for the video of #11-15

#11

Andrew Strait Wraps Up Career as the CAA Swimmer of the Year and League's Top Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Already one of the greatest swimmers in school history before the year even started, senior Andrew Strait (Henrico, Va.) turned in a golden year in 2013-14 and led the Tribe to its best season in over 40 years. W&M went undefeated at home for the first time since 1971, and finished second at the closest CAA Championships ever.

Strait wrapped up his stellar Tribe career with a brilliant week at the CAA Championships in February, taking home six golds and leading W&M to second place in the closest-ever meet in conference history. He won all three of his individual events, the 200 IM, 100 breast, and 200 breast, for the second year in a row, and also claimed gold on the 800 free relay, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay while taking silver in the 200 free relay. Strait's times in the 200 IM (1:46.59) and as part of the 800 free relay (6:31.77) both set CAA records. All told, his six golds marked just the ninth time in CAA history that one man has won six or more events, and the first since 2006. Strait finished his career with school-records of six individual conference championships, four relay championships, and 10 total gold medals. In 2013-14, he led the Tribe with 22 victories and ranked second with 377.5 points, and was named the CAA Swimmer of the Championships for the second year in a row.

In Strait's career, he set numerous school and freshman records, and graduated holding W&M's all-time records in the 100 breast, 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 free relay, 800 free relay, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay. He totaled 1,300.5 points in his four years, second-most ever, and his 77 career victories ranks third all-time. Strait was twice named the CAA Swimmer of the Meet (last year and this one), and swam at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in three events. Strait was also named to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District first team in both 2013 and 2014, and to the CSCAA Honorable Mention All-Academic list.

At the conference meet, the Tribe put seven runners in the top 12, including two freshmen and five underclassmen. In fact, of the entire 12-man squad, eight return this fall with at least two more years of eligibility. Senior Rad Gunzenhauser (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was second in his final CAA appearance, and freshman Trevor Sleight was close behind in third to earn CAA Runner of the Year honors. Sophomore Ryan Gousse (Apopka, Fla.) was fifth, and classmates David Barney (Lynchburg, Va.) and Nathaniel Hermsmeier (Charlottesville, Va.) rounded out the scoring five in sixth and ninth. They helped give the Tribe a 25-44 win over Northeastern, its 12th victory by more than 15 points in the last 13 years.

W&M’s 14-straight conference titles is the second-longest active streak in the nation, behind only the 23-year run by Iona in the MAAC, and it is tied for the sixth-longest streak in NCAA history. The Tribe’s 21 CAA championships is the second-most by any team, in any sport, in conference history (behind W&M’s women’s tennis team, with 22). Between both the CAA and the Southern Conference, W&M has won 36 men’s cross country titles, third-most ever in the NCAA behind only Wisconsin (46) and Arkansas (42).

#13

Tribe Athletes Continues Academic Excellence

W&M athletes once again demonstrated why Tribe Athletics personifies the term ‘student-athlete.’ The Green and Gold demonstrated its academic excellence in a number of ways during the 2013-14 season. A total of seven W&M teams earned NCAA Public Recognition for ranking in the top 10% of their sport nationally in the Academic Progress Rate (APR), which measures a program's success at both graduating athletes and keeping them on a steady path to graduation. Those Tribe programs included field hockey, lacrosse, men's basketball, and both men's and women's teams in golf and tennis. The seven teams honored ranked fourth nationally and brought the Tribe total to 69 over the nine years of the award.

A number of Tribe individuals earned honors for their academic prowess. Four student-athletes were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa this year, bringing Tribe Athletics total to 258. John Banks (men’s tennis), Taylor Hodge (field hockey), Jaclyn McKenna (women’s basketball/volleyball) and Will Smith (men’s soccer/golf) were elected to the prestigious honor society. W&M also added to its lists of Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans as Banks and senior baseball player Kevin Nutter earned the distinction. Banks was a second team selection on the Men’s At-Large team, while Nutter received third team honors in baseball. It marked the 18th time since 1978 that W&M had multiple Academic All-Americans from the organization. In total, 58 Tribe athletes have earned Academic All-America honors, a number that leads the CAA and ranks third in the state of Virginia.

Emily Stites Earns Pair of All-America Honors, Named Southeast Region Athlete of the Year

Two national titles in your freshman year is a tough act to follow, but Tribe sophomore Emily Stites (Wyoming, Ohio) proved up to the challenge in 2013-14. She cemented her place as one of the country’s top young runners with two top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, and the first regional cross country title in school history.

Stories #16-20 VideoClick the Play Button to the left for the video of #16-20

#16

Tribe Heavily Invovled in the Community

Along with its academic and athletics pursues, Tribe Athletics also wants to make an impact within the community and give back. Here is a look at some of the valued acts of community service from the Tribe in 2013-14:

Tribe for TeddyThe men’s tennis program hosted ‘Tribe for Teddy’ to show support for W&M alums Alex and Mary Fish and their infant son, Teddy, who has a rare disorder known as Menkes. Hundreds of patrons donned green ‘Tribe for Teddy’ t-shirts at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis in support for the Fish family and raise awareness of the disease. Check out the video above and photo gallery below of the event, or click HERE for the video and HERE for the photo gallery. Menkes is a rare and fatal disease of lacking copper in the body and affects 1 in 100,000 newborns each year. Children with the disease show symptoms during infancy and do not live past an early age. Alex and his wife, Mary, are graduates of William and Mary, and Alex was a member of the Tribe’s 2005 CAA Championship team. Sadly on May 5, 2014, Teddy lost his battle with Menkes. For more information on Teddy, visit the Teddy Fish Facebook page.

Massey Cancer RunThe Tribe cross country and track and field program raised more than $20,000 at its annual Massey Cancer Center 5K Run and Walk at Zable Stadium in November. The Massey Cancer Run has been a Tribe tradition for over 20 years, and has helped raise more than $125,000 for research at the Massey Cancer Center at MCV. Organized with large thanks to Charles (a cancer survivor himself) and Ginny Crone '83 and their family, as well as Randy ‘71 and Shelby Hawthorne '71 and the W&M cross country and track programs, the event welcomes runners, walkers, and relay teams to a race around the historic W&M campus.

Birdies for Breast CancerFor the fourth year running, the men's and women's golf ran the "Tribe Birdies for Breast Cancer" donation effort. Since its beginning in the Spring of 2011, the Tribe has raised more than $23,000 for breast cancer research through the Susan G. Komen Foundation, including over $1,200 during the spring of 2014.

FISHThe men’s gymnastics program has a long tradition of excelling athletically, academically and in the community. This year’s team continued to build upon that tradition by sponsoring its annual food drive, which collected 2,953 pounds of canned goods for the local FISH food bank. This winter marked the sixth year that W&M sponsored a food drive benefiting FISH. During that span, the Tribe has collected approximately 14,500 pounds of food for the organization.

Coming off of a CAA Tournament appearance in 2012, and with the graduation of several key players and the retirement of legendary coach Peel Hawthorne ’80, the Tribe showed its grit under the direction of first-year head coach Tess Ellis, turning in an exciting campaign. The Green and Gold upset a pair of nationally-ranked opponets and tallied a trio of CAA victories to earn a spot in the league semifinals.

With W&M at a 5-7, and just two days removed from a tough home loss to Richmond, the Tribe traveled up to Charlottesville for a road test at No. 5-ranked Virginia. The Cavaliers featured multiple All-Americans and an Olympian, but in the rain on the blue turf, it was the Tribe who played like the national contenders. Sophomore Pippin Saunders (Mittagong, NSW) scored on a solo run with a cracking shot in the eighth minute, and the Cavaliers were unable to answer for over 50 minutes, stopped thanks to an outstanding defensive effort. That included a diving save by senior forward Taylor Hodge (Louisville, Ky.), who ran all the way back and snaked the head of her stick behind the ball as it rolled towards an open goal. In the second half, Hodge got in done on the other end of the field connecting on a penalty corner from Saunders and Chaney Manganello (Richmond, Va.) in the 62nd minute for a 2-0 lead. Virginia was able to get one back 90 seconds later, but that was all, and W&M had its first win over a top-five opponent since 1995. Check out the highlights from the Tribe's win over No. 5 Virginla.

Two weeks later, the Green and Gold headed to the nation’s capital and a meeting with the 18th-ranked American squad. Once again, the Tribe confounded the experts and took the early lead on a corner, thanks to Hodge yet again and assists from Saunders and Kayleigh Ross (McLean, Va.). American found a tying score in the 45th minute, and at the end of 70 minutes, the game went into 7v7 overtime. With almost the entire first 15-minute extra period used up, the Tribe earned a penalty corner and passed the ball in to Hodge. She took a step to elude an on-rushing defender, and cranked off a shot that found the boards behind the goal, and delivered W&M its second ranked-upset of the year.

During his final season with the Tribe, Tim Rusthoven was recognized for both his play on the court and his work off it. He was named the 2014 winner of the CAA’s Dean Ehlers Leadership Award, marking the fourth time in the last five years the Tribe has taken home the league’s most prestigious basketball honor. The distinction, which has been presented to the deserving men’s and women’s basketball player since 1995, is named after former James Madison athletic director Dean Ehlers, who was a founding member of the conference, served as its first President and was a recognized leader through his membership on numerous NCAA Committees. The award is given to the student-athlete who “embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement.” Rusthoven joined David Schneider (2010) and Quinn McDowell (2011 and 2012) in being named the winner of the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award winner.

Rusthoven was heavily involved in the Williamsburg and W&M communities along with being a student leader on campus and in athletics during his career. He was a team captain and member of the W&M SAAC along with his involvement in the Mason School of Business. Rusthoven was the president of Tribe Fellowship, an on campus Christian fellowship group, and led a Bible study group of high school boys at the Williamsburg Community Chapel. He was a nominee for the 2014 Allstate NABC Good Works Teams®, which recognizes a select group of college basketball student-athletes who have made significant contributions to the greater good of their communities through volunteerism and civic service. Rusthoven also capped his career, earning Second Team All-CAA honors on the court and being named the league’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Click HERE to check out #CAAHoops In Focus with Rusthoven.

At the Riveria/ITA All-American Championships, featuring the most exclusive championship draws of the top 32 singles players and top 24 double teams in the country, the Tribe’s Maria Belaya and Jeltje Loomans left a mark and showed themselves to be among the top players in the country in the first national championship event of the fall. Belaya advanced through the qualifying flight and into the singles main draw, before falling in the round of 16. Playing in the championship doubles draw, Belaya and Loomans combined to advance to the quarterfinals.

As the rest of the season played out, with a third-place showing at that home fall tournament, and fourth at the Middleburg Bank Intercollegiate in March, the Tribe entered the conference tournament ranked fifth in the CAA. The Green and Gold’s toughness and experience playing in adverse conditions came through, however, as W&M tied for second overall at the rain-soaked championship. Moran and McGovern were 12-over in their fifth-place tie, and juniors Anna McMullen (Monroe, La.) and Edelblut were 15th and 16th, respectively, while sophomore Alessandra Liu (Cynwyd, Pa.) rounded out the team in 22nd. The second-place finish was the best-ever for W&M at the CAA Championships. For the year, the Tribe ranked fourth in program history with a 312.38 stroke average, and fifth all-time with a .577 winning percentage (71-52).

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Football Defeats Three Top-20 Teams, Ranked as High as No. 16

The Tribe football team nearly earned its third NCAA Playoff berth in the last five years after posting a successful campaign last fall. En route to ranking as high as No. 16 nationally, W&M defeated three top-20 teams in successive weeks. The College achieved that success with one of the nation’s top defensive units, as it ranked second in the country in scoring defense (14.0), eighth in total defense (305.5), 11th in pass efficiency defense (107.4), 13th in rushing defense (118.1) and 15th in third down conversion defense (33.0). Additionally, W&M recorded a pair of shutouts during the 2013 campaign en route to posting the third-best scoring defense average in school history (since playing full 11-game schedules).

Alex Hicks Wins Joe Agee Invitational, Named All-CAA First Team for Second Straight Season

A quartet of Tribe freshman took home Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year honors in 2013-14. The group of Trevor Sleight (Men’s Cross Country), Jaimie Miller (women’s swimming), Omar Prewitt (men’s basketball) and Marlena Tremba (women’s basketball) were each recognized as the top freshman players in the conference in their respective sports.

Sleight turned in strong performances during the regular season at the Panorama Farms Invitational (34th) and Pre-Nationals (138th), before finishing third overall at the CAA Championships to help the Tribe defend its conference title. The third-place effort was the best for a true freshman since 2004. Sleight finished his year at the Southeast Regional, taking 44th overall as the third Tribe finisher and helping W&M upset three more highly-ranked teams.

Miller was the only rookie to win an event at the conference championship meet and racked up 42 points in her three individual events to become just the third W&M rookie of the year in women’s swimming. She won the 100 free in 50.14 seconds, while also finishing fourth in the 50 free (23.09 seconds) and 10th in the 200 free (1:49.89). Miller reached the podium in all three of her relay events, helping W&M set school records in the 200 free relay (1:31.02, 2nd), 400 free relay (3:21.03, 2nd), and the 400 medley relay (3:42.57, 3rd).

Prewitt became the third W&M player to be named the league’s rookie of the year after leading CAA rookies in a number of categories, including scoring (11.4), 3-pointers made (51), assists (63), 3-point percentage (37.0), free throw percentage (75.8) and steals (29), while ranking second in rebounding (4.6 per game). On seven occasions during the season, he was named the CAA Rookie of the Week. He turned in a number of memorable performances, including 10 of his career-high 24 points in an overtime win over Howard. In the CAA title game, Prewitt had an ESPN Top 10 player moment with a steal and dunk on the way to scoring 14 points, all in the second half.

After two very successful seasons, the Tribe swim teams earned their best-ever year-end rankings from CollegeSwimming.com. W&M was undefeated at home in 2013-14, the first time ever that both teams have recorded a perfect mark in Williamsburg in the same year. The CollegeSwimming.com rankings compare team's times against not only national standards, but also against their own season-best marks.

On the women's side, W&M ranks 23rd in the mid-major cohort and 64th nationally. The Tribe was third at the CAA Championships behind only Towson (37th) and James Madison (63rd), and returns champions Megan Howard (McLean, Va.) and Jaimie Miller (Houston, Texas). On the men's side, the CAA runner-up Tribe finished the year 57th in the nation and ranked 18th in the mid-major polls. Thanks to its strong performances at the CAA Championships, which included 14 school records and 12 championship titles, W&M actually finished ahead of team champion UNCW (63rd nationally) and also ahead of East Carolina (58th). In fact, the Tribe was third among state schools, behind only ACC powers Virginia Tech and Virginia.

Prior to tip-off, W&M honored its senior pair of Kaitlyn Mathieu and Victoria Willems for their contributions to the Tribe program. The duo started and set the tone for the Green and Gold. Mathieu just missed her 10th career double-double with 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go with nine rebounds. Willems chipped in four points, three rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal.

As a team, the Tribe set school records for assists (27) and field goals made (41), while shooting the second-best field goal percentage in program annals at 61.2 percent. Junior forward Jazmen Boone set an individual school record, knocking down a perfect 8-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range, to finish with a game-high 18 points. The Tribe’s 97 points and nine blocked shots were the fifth-best marks in school history. The Green and Gold also registered the 15th-most steals in school history (17), led by freshman Alexis Hofstaedter’s six. Hofstaedter and Boone each had a major hand in the assist total, dishing out eight and seven, respectively.